New Concord, OH – A stifling defensive effort by the Oberlin College men's basketball team lifted them to a 71-55 road win at Muskingum University on Wednesday night.
The Yeomen held the Muskies to just 32.3-percent (21-of-65) shooting, while also creating six steals and six blocked shots. In all, Muskingum turned the ball over 13 times.
Offensively, sophomore
Jack Poyle continued his torrid start to the season, cashing in a game-high 17 points, which featured a 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc. Senior
Austin Little provided a spark off the bench as he dialed in on three triple-tries of his own to finish with 11 points. Big man
Randy Ollie rounded out a trio of Yeomen in double-figures, adding 10 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
The first 30 minutes of action was closely contested but the Yeomen were able to widen the gap with under four minutes to go as Poyle used a personal 4-0 spurt to open up a 25-17 lead at the 3:59 mark. However, the Muskies fought their way back, scoring seven of the final nine points of the stanza to trail just 27-24 at the break.
In the second half Oberlin was clinging to a 39-38 lead, but used a 9-0 run that featured five points from Little to go up 48-38 with 11:05 left to play. Following a Muskingum bucket to get the margin back down to eight, 48-40,
Nathan Cohen connected on a 3-pointer with 9:18 remaining to increase the spread to 11, and from that point on the Yeomen would lead by double digits the rest of the way.
Senior point guard
Jesse Neugarten dished out five assists and matched Cohen with nine points to help supplement the Yeomen effort.
The Yeomen shot 43.4-percent (23-of-53) from the floor, which included an impressive 11-of-24 (45.8%) performance from 3-point land. Oberlin moved to 2-1 overall with the win, while Muskingum fell to 1-1.
After playing three games in five days, the Yeomen will now have some time to recover as their next scheduled game is not until Tuesday, November 25 when Earlham College comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. tilt.
